The alert goes off in the very early morning hours of August 15th, 2012. An emergency call from The Legion. You waste no time getting to headquarters. There Silver Chancellor informs you that something from space hit the earth in northern Canada. The evidence suggests that it was probably not a meteorite because it seemed to slow down as it entered the atmosphere. A Canadian fighter jet has been dispatched to survey the area. The location is north of the arctic circle so is experiencing 24 hours of daylight each day. However, the area was heavily overcast prior to the impact and has become moreso since the landing.
Because evidence suggests that this might be something more than a meteorite, The Legion wants the team to investigate.
Without further ado, the group scrambles for Legion One, the new jet that has been provided to them for just this sort of emergency. White Lady takes the controls with Indigo Baron in the co-pilot's seat and Violet Duchess manning the sensors and communications gear. The supersonic jet streaks up into the night. White Lady waits a few minutes to move out of the metropolitan area before ramping up to Mach 3. Indigo Baron plots the course and estimates about 1 hour to reach the vicinity.
A few minutes later, Silver Chancellor comes on the radio and reports that the Canadian Air Force has lost contact with the jet that was sent to investigate. It was about 25 miles from the impact site at the time and had last reported low visibility and high turbulence in the upper atmosphere. They have sent a second one to investigate from a greater distance. The Americans also scrambled a jet from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska 30 minutes ago and it is now proceeding to investigate.
About 45 minutes later, the Silver Chancelllor radios again. Communications with both the American and Canadian jet have been lost. Both remained 40 miles from the impact site. He also reports that there is a hunting lodge on Colville Lake, a few miles west of the impact site and all efforts to raise them have failed.
GM: Let me know what you want to do. Obvious choices are to head towards the impact site, head towards the lodge, or stop short of the impact site by more than 40 miles so as not to suffer the same fate as the Air Force jets.
GM: Also, feel free to suggest better names for the jet than Legion One.
INDIGO BARON: “Heh. Scratch three jets – and their pilots. Damn.” He turns toward the White Lady. “Can’t this crate go any faster?”
INDIGO BARON: OOC – I’m fine with calling the jet “Legion One”.
VIOLET DUCHESS: "Let's approach the site about 50 miles away to see if we can get any visuals. After that let's slowly proceed toward the lodge. Assuming we don't lose control of the jet we can land and investigate on foot."
IRON DUKE: "I agree with the Duchess. Let's see what we can learn before we dash in, and our first priority should be rescue -- either the lodge or a downed aircraft, whichever we sight first."
IRON DUKE: "Silver Chancellor -- what were the last few minutes of radio transmission from each of the lost aircraft?"
SILVER CHANCELLOR: "In all three cases, they were describing the turbulent conditions as they approached. They were in constant radio communications. Other than the extreme weather conditions, they did not see anything else."
WHITE LADY: Wearing her spandex, It was apparent to all as White Lady shifted back and forth between her frosted white ice form and normal, though somewhat damp, flesh and blood. As was usually before a mission, White Lady was keeping herself as hungry as possible. Which meant that she kept involuntarily shifting to ice form, then shifting back as quickly as she could. She had added a pair of leather flight gloves to her costume to protect the controls from the dampness caused by her frequent frosting and thawing.
WHITE LADY: "Coming up on 50 miles to target, slowing to subsonic and maintaining distance to see if we can see anything from here. Silver Chancellor, not that it matters to me, but what's the weather like outside?"
GM: I'm assuming this latter question is actually being addressed to Violet Duchess, who is manning the sensors. The outsite temperature reading is showing -60 degrees Fahrenheit at an altitude of 30,000 feet. It has been dropping as the jet gets closer to the impact site. Also, White Lady is noticing significant turbulence as she approaches. The skies are heavily overcast in an unnatural fashion. The clouds are visibly roiling like smoke rather than clouds.
WHITE LADY (OOC): Actually I was wondering what ground conditions should be in this area.
WHITE LADY (OOC): I remember from when I lived in Anchorage, AK that Fairbanks, although north of the arctic circle, would reach 90 Fahrenheit most years. Today Fairbanks is ranging from 69 to 48, a range I personally would find very comfortable. But further north is the permafrost. So for those who aren't immune to the cold, how cold is it outside?
WHITE LADY (OOC): I assume we reach the 50 mile mark without incident. She's holding at that distance, making a big circle. I expect we're far to far to see anything (unless someone has enhanced senses), but we're not in a hurry to crash this nice new plane...
As White Lady takes the jet down into the overcast, the temperature climbs a little but not as much as it should for this time of year. The turbulence is awful and White Lady is having to fight the jet at every turn. Vision is almost 0 but the radar and other non-visual sensors are operating normally.
GM: Go ahead and send a Combat Piloting roll. Violet Duchess can also send a Systems Operations roll.
WHITE LADY: White Lady fights the controls (Combat piloting 13 [rolled 14]) to keep the plane in the air and to attempt to stay on course. "Silver Chancellor, we're already getting turbulence. How far out did the previous pilots report encountering turbulence?"
VIOLET DUCHESS: System Operations 13- [rolled 14]
As the turbulence suddenly increases, it is all that White Lady can do to maintain control of the jet. The plane drops a hundred feet as she fights the weather.
As Violet Duchess is watching the video feeds from the nose of the jet and trying to scan the ground through the thick overcast, the screen suddenly goes blank. In fact, every bit of electronic equipment on the entire plane suddenly ceases to function and many overload in a shower of sparks and fire. The instrument panel practically erupts in flame and sparks. Elsewhere within the plane is similar chaos. With the loss of electronics, the jets cease to function and the plane begins to plummet. It is fortunate indeed that this plane is not exactly like most jets and it can be controlled, albeit with extreme difficulty, after the loss of the jets. With fires and sparks everywhere, the jet plunges towards the ground.
GM: I need a Combat Piloting roll from White Lady. Let me know if anyone else is going to do anything. The plane is about 5000 feet above ground level right now.
VIOLET DUCHESS (GM): Do we have parachutes? I've assumed we've been trained to jump as well? How easily can we bail on the plane?
GM: Yes, the jet has parachutes. If you have a 1 point Transport Familiarity with them, you can parachute easily. Even without this, you can use a parachute, but not as gracefully. The only problem is the wild conditions outside the jet.
INDIGO BARON: Will activate his powers, shrinking down to 9” tall. He will fly up to the ceiling of the plane and push against it to slow their descent to a manageable level.
GM: Indigo Baron is pretty sure that this won't work - any more than someone jumping and pushing against the ceiling would affect the rate of fall. While Champions necessarily bends the laws of physics I still like to adhere to them where I can. Right now, Indigo Baron is within the "frame of reference" of the jet. Pushing against the ceiling with all his strength is more likely to damage the ceiling than to alter the plane's rate of descent. It would be different if he was outside the plane and both were in the "frame of reference" of the skies over Canada.
IB: (OOC) Ok, no problem. Will stand ready to fly outside if necessary. In the mean time, he’s holding onto a strap to keep from being a pint-sized projectile.
GM: If White Lady is able to make a decent Combat Piloting roll, she can bring the unpowered jet into a more graceful, almost glider-like, descent.
IRON DUKE (OOC): I think we're in good shape there. Even if White Lady can't make a safe landing out of residual maneuverability, our flyers can either carry the party to safety before impact or provide additional lift to the aircraft. Looks to me like our first opponent will be the weather...
IRON DUKE: "Hey Baron, I think we should be prepared to get outside and lend a helping hand on this landing. Lady! Let us know if you need a landing assist! I'm going to look at the exits!
IRON DUKE (TECH): Electronics roll to restore operation for cabin doors and/or cargo ramp. -- [rolled 13] -- Can I open up a way out? How about manual overrides? I'm not going to open up the cabin yet, because I want White Lady to have all the airworthiness she can get, but I do want to confirm operational controls and hatches in case we need them.
IRON DUKE (TECH): Acrobatics roll (13-2=11-) = [rolled 11]
INDIGO BARON: Acrobatics roll (12-): [rolled 10]; note he does have position shift on his flight power.
WHITE LADY: White Lady lets herself turn to ice while she fights the controls trying for a controlled glide to the ground. She is very glad that this plane isn't' fly by wire right now!
WHITE LADY (tech): Combat Piloting 13 [rolled 10]
WHITE LADY (OOC): Here's hoping the dice like me better this time...
VIOLET DUCHESS: Fiona shrieks as her controls start to spark. "Uh, my training didn't cover this!" as she helplessly watches the demise of her instrument panel. Though she has no control over what's happening she calmly observes the cabin around her, putting her willpower to work. "White Lady, can you land us or do we need to bail on the plane? Other options guys?"
Even without getting up, Iron Duke can tell that the electronics are fried beyond quick repair. The group was assured that the jet contains loads of spare parts - enough to repair or replace just about any system so assuming the spares aren't fried as well, the jet should be repairable, but it will take time. It is not something that can be done on the spur of the moment. There are overrides on the exit doors that allow them to be opened manually in the event of this type of emergency.
Iron Duke unbuckles and barely manages to hang on as the jet lurches. But hang on he does and works his way over to the closest emergency exit. He does not open the door yet but grimly hangs on and is ready in case the door needs to be opened.
Likewise, Indigo Baron also frees himself from his seat as he reduces to his Mighty Atom form (by my calculation, he weighs about 850 lbs in that form). He uses his highly maneuverable flying ability to find a place near the door and holds on hoping his small but strong grip won't damage the aircraft.
Violet Duchess is glad for the sturdy straps on her seat. She holds on tightly as her instrument board sparks and flames with minor explosions. She notes the parachute locker a few steps away.
Green Knight remains seated and in normal form. Activating his Strength of the Bear form, and the massive increase in weight that the change entails, could jeopardize the jet. He too notes the location of the parachute locker.
Even while all of this is occurring, White Lady is fighting the powerless controls, very thankful that they include enough manual components that they are still responsive even after such a massive electrical breakdown. Slowly, every so slowly, she regains control despite the almost hurricane force winds and heavy overcast. "WE'RE GOING DOWN!" she shouts out, "but hopefully it will be a controlled landing. Everyone make sure they are buckled in tight."
GM: Let me know if Indigo Baron is going to return to normal size and buckle in. Otherwise, if the plane hits hard, he will probably be thrown through the front windshield which is unlikely to be able to withstand the impact of an 850 pound small projectile. Similarly, the straps are unlikely to be able to hold him.
GM: Is Iron Duke going to return to his seat and buckle in?
GM: I need PER rolls for the pilot (White Lady) and co-pilot (Indigo Baron assuming he is able to see out the front windshield). I also need one more Combat Piloting roll from White Lady, which may or may not have modifiers depending on the PER rolls.
WHITE LADY: Perception 12 [rolled 13], combat piloting 13 [rolled 10]
IRON DUKE: White Lady seems to think she can bring us in controlled, so I'll trust her. Strapping in -- but in the spirit of "trust, but verify" I'll activate my force field as insurance against a bumpy landing.
WHITE LADY (OOC): White Lady has activated her armor, she's not likely to be offended by someone activating a force field :-)
WHITE LADY: White Lady wrestles with the controls to keep the nose pointed into the wind. With no navigation and no visibility she can't tell which direction they are going in, but a head wind will keep their air speed up so they can glide down while keeping their ground speed down to minimize the inevitable crash. She announces, "I've got us stabalized for the moment, but I'm flying blind. I can't see the ground. More importantly I won't be able to see any trees or hills ether. If anyone can sense the environment around the plane I could use some guidance. Otherwise prepare for a possible crash."
As the jet continues its controlled descent under White Lady's expert guidance, breaks in the heavy overcast begin to appear revealing a mountainous terrain with broad valleys and high plains among many lakes, large and small. In the brief time that the terrain is revealed, before the clouds close in again, White Lady does not see a suitable landing site but Indigo Baron does. He points to the northeast and says, "I saw a relatively flat area over there! Steer in that direction."
White Lady turns the jet in that direction and then straightens out. Over the course of the next few minutes, more breaks in the roiling clouds allow her to line up on the landing site - hardly an ideal one but the best that is available for the time being. She calls for Green Knight to manually lower the landing gear. The noise level in the aircraft increases as he does so. He returns to his seat and buckles in when he has completed the task.
Then the plane is bumping down. It hits and skips forward a hundred feet before coming down again. White Lady does everything she can to slow the hurtling vehicle down and minimize damage. The wheels bump over rocks and shrubs and other irregularities in the terrain and the speed slowly comes down. At one point, it lurches abruptly to the left as the terrain becomes uneven and the front and left wheels drop down a foot. Shortly thereafter, the jet comes to a complete stop.
Indigo Baron says, "Going from memory of our position when the electronics blew, and dead reckoning since then, I estimate that the impact location is about 45 to 50 miles to the north, northeast while the lodge is about 20 miles to the northwest."
GM: The terrain is mountainous but of the type with wide valleys and high plains. The area is very forested in most places though there are some areas of broad plains. Ground movement (running) through the forests will be at half movement speed unless you have the appropriate Environmental Movement. Obviously flyers can fly above the trees unimpeded.
GM: The weather is very rough with high winds that prevail out of the north northeast but can gust from any direction. Wind speed is a minimum of 30 mph but with near constant gusts up to 50-60 mph and occasional gusts over 100 mph. Visibility on the ground is better than in the air but is seldom higher than a hundred yards and is frequently less.
GM: Let me know what the team wants to do. Obvious choices are to repair the jet, head to the lodge or head to the impact location.
WHITE LADY: "My flight instructor said that any emergency landing that you can walk away from is a good one." She shuts down the controls, even though the switches are doing nothing, before unbuckling her harness. "Well we know the electronics are a mess. Shall we go outside and see what shape I left the landing gear in?"
WHITE LADY (OOC): One thing missing from your weather report is the temperature. It's summer, but there's still a wide range of temperatures possible above the arctic circle.
GM: Yeah, I also forgot precipitation. The temperature is barely above freezing. Driving rain and sleet is falling, sometimes being driven almost horizontal by the heavy gusts of wind.
IRON DUKE: "We need to evaluate our options. Somebody look through the storage lockers to see what kind of foul weather gear we have -- if any. Green Knight, let's look things over and try to get a sense of whether or not repairs are really an option"
IRON DUKE (TECH): I'll take a look at how we stand for electrical system spare parts and do some diagnosis -- Electronics roll = [rolled 7].
IRON DUKE (GM): Do I have any ideas about what phenomena might have produced that total system overload? Does poking around in the guts of the plane provide any clues? Let me know if I need to make another roll to start forming a hypothesis.
GREEN KNIGHT: "Sounds good." He too gets up and starts looking things over. Mechanic 12- [roll] He will step outside and examine the jet externally as well. He is wearing his Legion uniform, which also provides 4 rPD Armor
GM: Foul weather gear is stored in lockers on the jet. If you are OIF wearing armor, you can assume that it has some weather resistant functionality. If you have immunity to cold, you are also fine unless you have some sort of susceptibility to water. |